Debbie McGee has opened up about the heart-wrenching loss of her cherished husband, Paul Daniels. The couple shared 28 years of marriage before Paul’s devastating diagnosis with a rapidly progressing brain tumor, a glioblastoma that left him with merely weeks to live.
Reflecting on the moment when she learned of his illness, Debbie shared with The Telegraph: “When the neurosurgeon asked if Paul wanted to know his condition, he simply said, ‘No, tell Deb,’ and stepped out of the room.” The news was a complete shock to Debbie.
Paul had expressed a wish to remain uninformed about his health prognosis, leaving it to Debbie to communicate the difficult message to his three sons. “It’s the toughest call you could ever have to make,” Debbie recounted.
Faced with the harsh reality of his incurable condition, Debbie and Paul’s children decided against pursuing medical treatments that offered no promise of extending or enhancing his life.
During Paul’s final weeks, Debbie cared for him at their home near Henley-on-Thames. “He had the chance to spend time with his sons and grandchildren. The weather was lovely, allowing us to walk in the garden down to the water. Every afternoon, Paul enjoyed a Magnum ice cream, one of his favorites. I cherish those fond memories from that period,” she fondly remembered.
While Debbie admits that she’d sometimes cry when Paul wasn’t around, the TV star managed to stay in good spirits. “For the time he was at home – a month and five days – I was cheery. I put my makeup on and did my hair every day, and we shared loads of jokes. I just kept saying to myself, ‘Don’t look forward and don’t look back; concentrate on this minute.'”
While Paul had refrained from learning about his official diagnosis, Debbie notes that he eventually asked her to tell him what it was after suffering a fall in their bathroom. “I said, ‘Well, darling, do you really want to know?’ and he said yes, so I replied, ‘You’ve got a brain tumour.’ I don’t know whether he was ever able to absorb that information” she told The Telegraph.
Paul eventually passed away on March 17, 2016. He was 77. In the years since, Debbie has continued to live in their mansion in Wargrave, Berkshire, though she’s redecorated the bedroom where he died. In a bid to keep busy, Debbie has also continued to take on new projects and has appeared on Radio Berkshire, and in episodes of Loose Women, before competing in Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. More recently, she’s also become a patron for Brain Tumour Research.